2 Morphology
2.1 Nominate
2.1.1 Nouns
A noun functions as the head of the NP. Nouns cannot take the causative marker a- and
only nouns can be formed into adjectives by the derivational suffix -an.
2.1.1.1 Proper Nouns
Proper nouns cannot be marked at all with a possession marker, nor can they be counted.
Names of people and places fall into this class.
Tungak Grammar Essentials
3) *JcA-g Kerek (Kerek is a woman's name)
Poss-lSg Kerek
'myKerek'
4) * Umbukul-imem ( Umbukul is a village name)
Umbukul- 1 PlurExPoss
'our Umbukul*
2.1.1.2 Common Nouns
Common nouns can be alienably or inalienably possessed.
2.1.1.2.1 Alienably Possessed Nouns
There is a class of nouns that can be distinguished by the fact that, when possessed, they
take a possessive pronoun preceding the noun. This type of possession is loosely bound
(alienable) to the possessor.
5) kA-g ai/M
Poss-lSg woman
'my wife'
6) kA-mem keve vua
Poss-lPlurEx Plur betelnut
'ourbetelnuts'
7) kA-mem ngono posong
Poss-lPlurEx two call
'our two names (for it)'
2.1.1.2.2 Inalienably Possessed Nouns
There is a class of nouns that, when possessed, must have a possessive person mark as
suffix.
This type of possession is more tightly bound (inalienable) to the possessor. These nouns
consist of body parts, and most kinship terms.
8) pukun-iriA
body-3SgPoss
'its body'
9) ngur-WA
mouth-3PlurPoss
'their mouths'
Many abstract nouns can be considered as being alienably or inalienably possessed
depending on the person's view of the possession relationship. For example, the noun asAti
'name', in the usual sense of an appellation, is not part of the person like the same noun
when it is referring to the person's reputation.
Lesley Fast
10) kA-UA aSAH
Poss-3Sg name
'his name'
11) asAn-iriA
name-3SgPoss
'his reputation'
2.1.1.3 Mass Nouns
There is a distinction of nouns based on the numerical system they use. Mass nouns
cannot be counted, nor can they take a pluralizing marker. Some nouns included in this
group are:
lanun * water'
roe ground"
kone 'sand'
inatus 'children*
12) kA-g (*kcve) inatus ki-po kkovek
Poss-lSg children 3PlurSAgr-Cont not.hcre
'My children are not here.'
13) ri ainA ki-po kap (*ri) lanun
Plur woman 3PlurSAgr-Cont felch water
'The women are fetching water.'
2.1.1.4 Numeral
2.1.1.4.1 Cardinal Numerals
The numerical system described in this section is still used widely in the speech
community.
The system is based on groups of five and ten. The numerals 1 — 4 are mono-morphemic
words.
sikci 'one'
ponguA 'two'
potol 'three'
puat 'four*
The numeral 5 is made up of two morphemes.
14) pal-pal lima
Redup-area five
Numerals from 6 — 9 are based on 5 plus 1, 2, 3, and 4. The structure is:
lima (5) + lc (from) + Numeral
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Tungak Grammar Essentials
15) lima-Ie-sikei
five-from-one
'six'
The morphemes for 2-4 in this construction are shortened. The first syllable is omitted and
in the case of 3 there is a vowel change for o to u.
puat -> -af
ponguA -> -ngiu
potol -> -till
16) lima-le-at
five-from-four
'nine*
Numerals upwards from ten are conjoined numerals.
17) SAngAuli na potol
ten and three
'thirteen'
18) SAngAuli na lima-le-at
ten and five-from-four
'nineteen'
To group tens and hundreds the cardinal numerals are used.
19) potol a SAngAuli
three Dcf ten
'thirty'
'Hundred' consists of two morphemes, the second meaning 'ten'.
20) lelen-SAngAuli
?-ten
'hundred*
An example of a complex numeral:
21) puat a lelen-SAngAuli na
four Dcf ?-ten and
lima-le-sikei a SAngAuli na sikci
five-from-onc Def ten and one
*four hundred and sixty one'
Lesley Fast
2.1.1.4.2 Ordinal Numerals
The morpheme a~va~la is prefixed to the counting numeral to form the ordinal number.
Structure of the ordinal noun phrase:
Ordinal NP = +Ord +Nmr +i +NP/Person Marker
22) la-pongUA i /u
Ord-two Gen 3Sg
'the second thing'
23) a-potol i kA-g keve nat
Ord-three Gen Poss-lSg Plur boy
'the third of my sons'
24) va ponguA i ppAn~buk ke
Ord two Gen leaf-book Dem
'this second letter'
'First' and 'last' are adverbial forms.
25) ai-no-ai i ha
Loc-front-? Gen 3Plur
'The first of them'
26) a-kAmus-ai i Uun
Cs-finish-? Gen time/day
*the last time/day*
2.1.1.4.3 Distributive
Distributive numerals are formed by reduplication of the first CVC of the counting
numeral.
27) e vingA-TA sik-sikei
at stomache-lPlurlncPoss Dist-one
'in each of our stomachs' (Long bel bilong yumi wanwan)
28) ri airu ki ta pAsal
Plur woman 3PlurSAgr Past go
pong-ponguA
Dist-two
'The women went two by two.*
2.1.1.5 Part- Whole Words
There is a small set of words that modify nouns marking them as being part of a whole.
Depending on what noun is being modified, one of these words will be used. There is
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Tungak Grammar Essentials
some overlap, that is, some nouns can be modified with more than one of these part-whole
words. A more m depth semantic study would need lo be done to determine the exact
relationship. Since it is possible for these part-whole words to take possessive morphology
they are analysed as nominal premodifiers of nouns.
29) volo nat ke ki ngAut
Spec boy Dem 3PlurSAgr cut.grass
'This group of boys will cut grass.'
30) rukun nat ke ki ng\ut
Spec boy Dem 3PlurSAgr cutgrass
'This group of boys will cut grass.'
31) kA-m rukun Icau
Poss-2Sg Spec sweet.potato
'Your small pile of sweet potato' (said when giving a gift)
Free translation: 'Here are some sweet potatoes for you.*
These words may occur without the noun they modify but it is always implicit from the
context.
32) rukun hk palau
Spec small just
'just a few (crabs, in this instance)*
2.1.1.6 Specifier
The specifier, mang, can mean *a certain* or simply v a\ It also can have the meaning of
'other' or 'another'.
33) kA~g mang keve bil
Poss-lSg Spec Plur thing
'my other things'
34) mang kAvulik si Rovi
Spec girl Gen Rovi
*a daughter of Rovi's'
35) kA-g mang sikci a tAun ro-ro-nro-ro-n
Poss-lSg Spec one Def time Rcdup-good-?
'My one good day' ('a good time I had once* title of story)
2.1.1.7 Derived Nouns
2.1.1.7.1 Movement Into Noun Slot
Nouns arc most commonly derived by moving words of other classes into the place that
the noun normally takes in the noun phrase.
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36) predicate complement:
ri kAvulik ki po uruk a-UvA
Plur girl 3PlurSAgr Cont happy Cs-big
'The girls are very happy.'
37) noun:
kA-ri uruk kA po 1a va
Poss-3Plur happy 3SgSAgr Cont big
'Their happiness is great.*
38) verb:
Nuvat kA ta tUngAm anongo
Nuvat 3SgSAgr Past sing yesterday
'Nuvat sang yesterday/
39) noun:
mi ta longong a tUngAin
2PlurSAgr Past hear Dcf sing
ro ang si Nuvat?
good Dem Gen Nuvat
'Did you hear that good singing of Nuvat's?*
The above noun derivation should not be confused with the clause that is prefixed by a
possessive pronoun and therefore makes it look like a NP, particularly when the clause is
reduced to the verb only. This kind of clause is used for expressing purpose. Sec section
5.2.2 on the purpose sentence.
2.1.1.7.2 Derivation by Reduplication
A few cases have been found where reduplication seems to form nouns from verbs. The
first CVC or the verb is reduplicated.
tnpo n 'have* -> tog-togon 'possessions'
40) verb:
ki po togon bil miang
3PlurSAgr Cont have thing many
'They have many things.'
41) noun:
kA-ri tog-togon kA po miang
Poss-3PIur Redup-havc 3SgSAgr Cont many
'Their possession is plentiful.'
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Tungak Grammar Essentials
2.1.1.8 Possession
This is a discussion of the possessive construction at the word level. For a description of
the possessive construction at phrase level see section 3.1.3 in which the possessive phrase
is discussed.
2.1.1.8.1 Possessive Pronoun Preceding the Noun
This construction: marks alienable possession on nouns.
Possessive Pronoun = Possessive (Jta) + Person Marker
42) kA-TA keve lu
Poss-lPlurlnc Plur house
'our (inclusive) houses'
2.1.1.8.2 Possession Marked by Affixation
This construction marks inalienable possession on nouns.
Possession Construction = +Noun +Person Marker
Morphophonemic rule: When the person marker follows a noun ending in a consonant, /
must be inserted between the noun and the person marker. For nouns ending in r the
phoneme a is inserted between the two. Nouns ending in a vowel have no insertion.
C +i +Person
r +u +Person
V +Person
43) tAS-'irung
sibling.same.sex-lDHncPoss
'our (two) brother*
44) tivu-mem
grand.relation-lPlurExPoss
'our grandparent/ancestor'
45) ngur-ug
mouth-lSgPoss
'my mouth'
2.1.1.8.3 Construction Using si
Alienably possessed nouns have another type of possession construction, alternative to the
possessive pronoun preceding the noun as in 5-7 above. It is constructed as follows:
a)NP +5/ +NP
Lesley Fast
46) nat si Vulau
boy Gen Vulau
'Vulau's son'
The second NP can be replaced by a person marker, in which case the particle ngi must
occur between si and the person marker as follows:
b) +NP +5J +ngi +Person Marker
47) nat si ngi ill
boy Gen ? 3Sg
'his son'
48) kcve lu 7a va si ngi mem
Plur house big Gen ? lPlurEx
'our (exclusive) big houses*
It should be noted that the particle ngi seems to be dependent on the presence of si and
also occurs where si is not functioning in a possessive construction but is required because
of the person marking.
2.1.1.8.4 Summary of Person Possession Affixes
All of the above possessive constructions use the same set of person markers. These are
outlined in figure 1.
1
2
3
Sg
'g
-m
-HA
Dl
DlEx
Dlinc
-mcmlong
-rung
-milong
-rilong
Trl
TrlEx
Trllnc
•mcmttol
•TAttOl
-mitiol
-rittol
Plur
PlurEx
Plurinc
-mem
-TA
-mi
-ri/riA
Fig. 1 Person Possessive Affixes
Third person plural -m is obligatory after ngi
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Tungak Grammar Essentials
49)
vui
si
ngi-riA
canoe
Gen
?-3Plur
'their
canoe*
2.1.1.9 Pluralization
There are two morphemes that mark plural. Singular is unmarked. Of these two plural
markers, one is used to mark indefinite nouns, ri, and the other to mark definite nouns,
keve.
50) £a-/2a keve kAuvek
Poss-3Sg Plur dog
'his dogs*
51) ri kAuvek
Plur dog
'the dogs*
The Plural marker ri is used as an honorific form of address to women wiih children. Note
the difference in the following two examples.
52) ri Us-im
Plur(Hon) sibling.of.same.sex-2SgPoss
'your sister (Hon)'
53) keve Us-im
Plur sibling.of.same.sex-2SgPoss
'your sisters'
This marker is also used when one name stands for a group.
54) tATYiA-riA i ri Makago
father-3PlurPoss Gen Plur Makago
'the father of Makago (with his siblings)'
55) ri Metemaung ki la screi vang
Plur Metemaung 3PlurSAgr Perf arrive Emph
'The people of Metemaung village have arrived.'
2.1.1.10 Deictics
There are two sets of deictics that contrast near and far. One pair modifies a NP. The other
pair is used only in the stative clause and has the meaning of 'to be'. Related to these
deictics are the locative morphemes, kke 'here' and suke 'there 1 . There is another set of
deictics that does not contrast near and far. These refer to known information. The
demonstrative ang refers to a previously mentioned or understood noun, whereas the
demonstrative iang refers to a previously mentioned or understood location. I would
consider these latter two deictics as having chiefly a discourse function.
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These deictics are charted in figures 2 and 3 below:
NEAR FAR
Locative in NP kke suke
Dem. in NP ke suke
Dem. in NP Ica/ia su^a/u
Fig. 2 Deictics at Phrase and Clause Level
Refers to Noun Refers to Location
ang iang
Fig. 3 Deictics at Discourse Level
Some examples to illustrate the use of these deictics:
1) Locative Morphemes at Phrase Level
56) kA-po kkovek e kke
3SgSAgr-Cont absent at here
'He is not here.*
57) pAsal ane suke
go to there
*Go over there.'
2) Demonstrative in NP
58) keve nat suke ki po sog na keve
Plur boy Dem.(far) 3PlurSAgr Cont net.fish and Plur
nat ke ki po ttcre palau
boy Dem.(near) 3PlurSAgr Cont watch just
'Those boys are net fishing and these boys are just watching.*
59) igenen ke kA po has a mamai
man Dem.(ncar) 3SgSAgr Cont know Dcf father lSgPoss
'This man knows my father.'
60) aitiA suke kA po gAlui VAkup
woman Dem.(far) 3SgSAgr Cont wash clothes
'That woman is washing clothes.'
3) Demonstrative as Complement in Equative Clause
Tungak Grammar Essentials
When the demonstrative functions as the predicate complement in the equative clause it is
marked with -ne.
61) full clause:
Kunak kAiiA
Kunak Dem.(near)
'This is Kunak.'
62) full clause:
kA-g lu SllkAMA
Poss-lSg house Dem.(far)
*That is my house/
4) Dcictics at Discourse Level
a) Referring to Noun:
63) ha la sabon-ai ani selen Ilk ang
lSgSAgr Perff find-? Obj path small Dcm
'I found the small path.' (referred to previously)
64) igenen ang k\ la muip mi laimji
man Dem 3SgSAgr Pcrf submerge in water
*The man (referred to previously) submerged in the water.*
b) Referring to Place:
65) kA po ago e iang
3SgSAgr Com be at Dcm
'He is there (at the place already referred to).'
2.1.2 Pronouns
Pronouns are a closed set of items used to substitute for a noun or noun phrase. There are
three basic types.
2.1.2.1 Personal Pronouns
2.1.2.1.1 Subject Pronoun
Subject pronouns are free pronouns as seen in the following example.
66) nau ha an luk kkut
lSgSPrn ISgSAgr MoLaway get firewood
*I will get firewood.*
The subject pronouns have the following forms:
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Lesley Fast
1
2
3
Sg
nau
numai
nin/A
Dl
DlEx
Dlinc
namemlong
Urung
namilong
rilong
Trl
TrlEx
Trllnc
namemttol
UTAttol
namittol
rittol
Plur
PlurEx
Plurinc
namem
Uta
nami
ririA
Fig. 4 Subject Pronouns
The following contractions occur interchangeably with the full forms:
namem -> ncm 'lPlurEx*
niniA •> niA '3Sg*
ririA •> m '3Plur'
The full form of IDlInc, if it were regular, would be tATAlong but only the contracted form
iAiung is used.
2.1.2.1.2 Object Pronouns
Object pronouns are formed in the following way:
Object Pronoun = +Object Marker +Person Marker
There are two forms of this object marker. One marks an object of higher definiteness i-
and the other marks an object of lower definiteness am-. It should be noted here that if the
object is a full NP, the definite NPO will not be prefixed by j- as in the pronoun, but
rather with a - na. But the indefinite object marker, ani, remains the same whether the
object is a full NP or simply a pronoun.
67) object pronoun:
ha ta a-bis a-rikek j*-a
lSgSAgr Past Cs-build Cs-bad Obj-3Sg
*I built it badly (I made a mess of it).'
68) full NPO:
tia ta a-bis a-rikek a lu ke
ISgSAgr Past Cs-build Cs-bad Obj house this
*I built this house badly.'
on
Tungak Grammar Essentials
69) object pronoun:
k\ la a-r-ai ani-A
3SgSAgr Perf Cs-see-? Obj-3Sg
'She saw her.*
70) full NPO:
jta la a-r-ai ani kAvulik ang
3SgSAgr Perf Cs-see-? Obj girl Dem
'She saw the girl*
All the plural person markers are the same following both i and ani. The singular person
markers differ. Hence figure 3 below shows the two morphemes together for the singular
pronouns but for the plural pronouns* only the person endings need be given.
1
2
3
Sg
i-Aii
ani-g
UA
ani-m
i-A
ani-A
Dl
DlEx
Dlinc
-memlong
-rung
-milong
-rilong
Trl
TrlEx
Trllnc
-memttol
-rAltol
-mittol
•riltol
Plur
PlurEx
Plurinc
-mem
-TA
-mi
•ha
Fig. 5 Object Pronouns
Notice that the singular person markers following i are somewhat irregular, in particular
2Sg, ua, which is a reduced form. It is worth noting that the Soi dialect of Tungak has the
more regular form i-am f whereas Tigak has the form u-am.
2.1.2.1.3 Subject Agreement in the Verb Phrase
Subject agreement (S Agr) is obligatory in the Verb Phrase as seen in the following
examples.
71) Sition Jca ta UngA i-A ta ngAnig
Sition 3SgSAgr Past chop Obj-3Sg Instr axe
'Sition chopped it with an axe.'
72) ri aiflA ki la U-Uun ani keve pok
Plur woman 3PlurSAgr Perf Redup-cook Obj Plur food
'The women cooked the food.*
Lesley Fast
73) nun ku serei ha ka a-IHs ua ta k\-g suIa
if 2SgSAgr come lSgSAgr Int Cs-give Obj2Sg Instr Poss-lSg spear
'If you come, I will give you my spear.'
74) Usa a-ongos *ata sinong
lPlurlncSPrn Cs-all lPlurlncSAgr sit
'All of us, let us sit.*
Subject agreement is marked with the following set of morphemes:
1
2
3
Sg
T\A
ku
kA
Dl
DlEx
Dlinc
namemlong
tATWg
milong
kilong
Trl
TrlEx
Trllnc
namemttol
tATAttOl
mittol
kittol
Plur
PlurEx
Plurinc
namem
tATA
mi
ki
Fig. 6 Subject Agreement Morphemes
In the above subject agreement morphemes, the same contraction rules apply as in the free
subject pronouns. (See Fig. 2)
75) nem a-ongos nem sinong
lPIurExSPm Cs-all lPlurExSAgr sit
'We all, we sat'
2 A 22 Possessive Pronouns
The possessive pronoun comprises ke- followed by person possessive agreement markers as
detailed in fig.l.
2 .1 .2.3 Interrogative Pronouns
Interrogative pronouns substitute for the questioned item. They are:
Tungak Grammar Essentials
sa
'what'
si
'who*
angisan
'when*
voi
'where'
saka...an
'how/which*
POISATI
'how many'
2.2 Verbals
It is not possible to formally distinguish adjectives from verbs. Both can function as the
predicate of the clause and both can take the causative marker a-. A distinction is
maintained only on a functional basis.
2.2.1 Verbs
2.2.1.1 Verb classes
2.2.1.1.1 Verbs Occurring With the -ai Suffix
There is a group of verbs which I have not found occurring without the -ai suffix.
Generally speaking, verbs can occur with or without this marker. It seems that this group
of verbs, perhaps because of the inherent meaning they have, must always have this suffix.
In any event the meaning of this morpheme is not clear at this point and neither is the
following list of examples complete.
There also seems to be a relationship between the marker -ai and the object marker ani-.
Unless the object is incorporated into the verb, as in this next example, the object will be
prefixed by ani-.
76) parik k\ pa sabon-ai vongo
not 3SgSAgr Neg find-? pig
'He did not find pigs.*
77) parik kA pa sabon-ai ani selen ang
not 3SgSAgr Neg find-? Obj path Dem
'He did not find the path.*
78) ki-la a-r-ai ani vul ang
3PlurSAgr-Perf Cs-see-? Obj canoe Dem
'They saw the canoe.'
79) nA-po buk ha ta ku me pakang-ai ani-g
lSgSAgr-Cont want Obj2Sg that 2SgSAgr MoUoward help-? Bnf-lSg
'I want you to come help me.'
2.2.1.1.2 Verbs That Change Length of Initial Consonant
There is a class of verbs that have either a short or long initial consonant depending on
whether they are higher or lower on the transitivity scale (Hopper/Thompson, 1980). High
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Lesley Fast
transitivity is marked by a short form of the consonant and an obligatory object. Low
transitivity is marked by a long form of the consonant and no object. The following pairs
of examples illustrate this difference.
kkinle vs. kinle
80) lower transitivity:
nA-an kkinle
lSgSAgr-Motaway recognize
Til go (and see if I) recognize (those people)/
81) higher transitivity:
parik nA-ta-pa kinle ua
not lSgSAgr-Past-Neg recognize Obj2Sg
*I did not recognize you.*
dAg vs. rkg * scrape/shred'
82) lower transitivity:
h ai/u ki-po dAg
Plur woman 3PlurSAgr-Cont scrape/shred
'The women are scrape/shredding (tapiok).'
83) higher transitivity:
ku TAg na vuk tapiok ke
2SgSAgr scrape/shred Dcf piece tapiok Dem
* You scrape/shred this piece of tapiok! *
2.2.1.1.3 Speech Verbs
There is a class of verbs that obligatorily take direct or indirect speech after them. For the
construction of the speech clause see Section 4.2.1.
84) kA-la antok ta parik
3SgSAgr-Perf say Sintr no
'He said, "No."'
85) kA-la sui i-au ta au numai ve si
3SgSAgr-Perf ask Obj-lSg Sintr Excl 2SgSPrn with who
'She asked me, "Well, who is with you?"'
86) namemlong-la sokottuk /-a ta k\ ago pok
IDlExSAgr-Perf beg Obj-3Sg Sintr 3SgSAgr remain back
*We two begged him to remain.*
There are two speech verbs which can occur with or without speech following them. I view
this as syntactic optionality. When they do not have reported speech following them, these
verb are focussing" on the action of talk. These two verbs are mengen 'talk' and a-kus 'tell'.
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Tungak Grammar Essentials
87) kA-po mengen s-Iava
3SgSAgr-Cont talk Cs-big
'He is talking loudly.*
88) nA-ka a-kus ua ta asAn ke Umbukul
lSgSAgr-Int Cs-tell Obj2Sg ? name Dem Umbukul
'I want to tell you about this name, Umbukul/
2.2.1.1.4 Intransitive Verbs
2.2.1.1.4.1 Non-derived Intransitive Verbs
The different semantic shades of non-derived intransitive verbs all function structurally the
same way. Verbs in this class may not take an NPO after them but may take other post-
nuclear phrases after them.
89) nA-po buk pata ve numai
lSgSAgr-Cont want be.awake with 2SgSPrn
*I want to be awake (visit) with you.'
90) ri vap ki~la rot a-ongos
Plur people 3PlurSAgr-Perf sleep Cs-all
'The people were fast asleep.'
91) igenen ang kA-!a rniup not lanun
man Dem 3SgSAgr-Perf submerge in water
'The man submerged in the water.'
2.2.1.1.4.2 Derived Intransitive Verbs
There is a class of intransitive verbs that can be formed into spontaneous action intransitive
verbs by the prefix U.
92) kA-nA vul kA la U-vungum
Poss-3sg canoe 3SgSAgr Perf Spon-tip
'His canoe tipped.'
93) kA la U-putuk a kAk-itiA i ri nnA
3SgSAgr Perf Spon-break Def leg-3SgPoss Gen Plur(Hon) mother. lSgPoss
'My mother's leg broke.'
94) Jbt la U-dek na vul ang
3SgSAgr Perf Spon-split Def canoe Dem
'The canoe split.'
2.2.1.1.5 Transitive Verbs
This class of verbs must have an object after them. They are intrinsically transitive and
cannot take the causative marker a-.
Lesley Fast
95) Siavor k\-ta lAmut a icn ta naip
Siavor 3SgSAgr-past cut Def fish Instr knife
*Siavor cut the fish with a knife/
96) ggot i-A ta angus
tie Obj-3Sg Instr vine
Tie it with a vine.'
These verbs may also incorporate their objects and in such case there will be no object
marking. Object incorporation occurs when the speaker views the object as part of the
activity of the VP. This can be seen in the position of the adverb within the VP. The
following two examples illustrate the difference between a regular definite object and an
incorporated object. In the first example notice the usual pre-object position of the adverb
tul 4 en-route'. In the second example the speaker views the action to be 'pig-tying* and
notice that now the adverb comes after the incorporated object.
97) nA-ta got tul kA-g vongo
lSgSAgr-Past tie en.route Poss-lSg pig
'I tied-up my pig en-route.*
98) nA-ta got vongo tul
ISgSAgr-Past tie pig en.route
*I pig-tied en-route'
2.2.1.2 Verb Compounds
There are many cases of double actions that are expressed by compounding two verbs into
the usual verb slot in the VP. In most cases these verbs are not changed in any way and
can also stand on their own. The exceptions that should be noted are where the first verb is
a reduced form.
99) Ung-Ieng (the full form of 'cry* is tAngis)
cry-fear
'cry in fear'
Several more common verbs that compound with a variety of verbs are here noted.
UngA-ttok 'chop-cut'
UngA-dek 'chop-split'
UngA-suai 'chop-remove'
luk-suai * get-rem o ve'
pAsal-suai 'go-remove* (go away)
lomon-suai 'think-remove'(forgive)
More in depth study will need to be done on this phenomenon of verb compounds.
26
Tungak Grammar Essentials
2.2.1.3 Derivation of Verbs Using Causative Prefix
Certain intransitive verbs and adjectives are readily changed into transitive verbs by
prefixing the causative marker a to them.
Derived Transitive Verb = +a +Intransitive Verb/Adjective
100) UrriA-riA kA-la a-mara-marak i-riA
father-3PlurPoss 3SgSAgr-Perf Cs-Redup-happy Obj-3Plur
'Their father encouraged them. '
101) nau UA-ia a-tung a lu ke
lSgSPrn ISgSAgr-Past Cs-stand Obj house this
'I erected this house/
2.2.1.4 Reflexive Verbs
Verbs which can have a reflexive meaning are marked as such by the use of the adverb vok
'back* in the VP.
102) Ngen kA-ta Umut pok j-a
Ngen 3SgSAgr-Past cut Rflx Obj-3Sg
'Ngen cut himself/
103) ri-nnA-riA ki-ta TAiing pok /-ha
Plur(Hon)-mother-3PlurPoss 3Plur(Hon)SAgr-Past kill Rflx Obj-3Plur(Hon)
'Their mother killed herself/
2.2.1.5 Reciprocal Verbs
Many verbs can have a reciprocal form. The prefix ang~ marks the verb as reciprocal. There
are two types of reciprocal action:
Type A: participants do something among themselves - no NPO
Type B: participants do something to each other - has NPO
104) Type A:
au, milong-po ang-tung sa ?
well 2DlExSAgr-Cont Recip-stand what
'Well, what are you two standing around for?'
105) Type A:
ingiiA kA-la llu j-a na kilong-Ia ang-lu-Uun
devil 3SgSAgr-Perf chase Obj-3Sg and 3DlSAgr-Perf Recip-Redup-chase
e selen
on road
'The devil chased him(man) and they (two) chased each other on the road/
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Lesley Fast
The reciprocal marker may also attach to the reflexive adverb.
106) TypeB:
ki-ta-po angan ang-pok-pok-ai ani-riA
3PIurSAgr-Past-Cont eat Recip-Redup-Rflx-? Mlf-3Plur
'They were eating each other.'
2.2.2 Adjectives
2.2.2. 1 Classes and Co-occurence
Adjectives function in the NP to post-modify the noun. There is very rarely more than one
adjective modifying a noun. When there are two classes together colour and size can co-
occur and size and quality can co-occur. Their order can be seen in the following examples:
107) kAuvek miting Lva
dog black big
'a big black dog'
108) lu lik to
house small good
'a good small house'
The adjective lik 'small*, when occurring after another adjective, has the function of
modifying that adjective rather than the Noun.
109) lu ro lik
house good small
'a slightly good house (mediocre house)'
2.2.2.2 Derivation
2.2.2.2 .1 Movement to Adjective Slot
Words of other classes occasionally function as adjectives by means of filling the adjective
slot.
110) igenen tUngim
man sing
*a singer'
111) puTA ainA
chicken woman
'hen*
2.2.2.2.2 The Suffix -an
Another way of deriving an adjective is by means of adding the suffix -an onto nouns.
Derived Adjective » +Noun +an
Lesley Fast
The reciprocal marker may also attach to the reflexive adverb.
106) TypeB:
ki-tajx) angan ang-pok~pok-ai aniru
3PIurSAgr-Pasl-Cont eat Rccip-Redup-Rflx-? Mlf-3Plur
'They were eaiing each other/
2.2,2 Adjectives
2.2.2.1 Classes and Co-occurence
Adjectives function in ihe NP to post-modify the noun. There is very rarely more than one
adjective modifying a noun. When there are two classes together colour and size can co-
occur and size and quality can co-occur. Their order can be seen in the following examples:
107) tcAiivck miting Java
dog black big
'a big black dog*
108) In lik to
house small good
*a good small house*
The adjective lik 'small', when occurring after another adjective, has the function of
modifying that adjective rather than the Noun.
109) iu ro lik
house good small
*a slightly good house (mediocre house)'
2.2.2.2 Derivation
2.2.2.2.1 Movement to Adjective Slot
Words of other classes occasionally function as adjectives by means of filling the adjective
slot.
110) igenen tUngAm
man sing
*a singer'
111) purA aixiA
chicken woman
'hen'
2.2.2.2.2 The Suffix -an
Another way of deriving an adjective is by means of adding the suffix -an onto nouns.
Derived Adjective = +Noun +an
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Tungak Grammar Essentials
The following examples are all the data of this type of derivation that have been found so
far. A more precise description of this class will have to wait until more data are gaihercd.
112) ring ke kA-po lang-an
place this 3SgSAgr-Cont fly (insect)- Adjz
'This place is full of flies/
1 1 3) ring iat-an
place stone-Adjz
* rocky place*
1 14) net I am An kA-po to -an
in water 3SgSAgr-Cont wave-Adjz
"The sea is wavy (rough)'
115) Uun lABgit-an
time rain-Adjz
4 rainy time*
2.2.2.3 Adjectives in Descriptive Clause
Adjectives occur as predicative complement in descriptive clauses. (Sec also section
4.1.2.2 on descriptive clause.)
1 16) ri kAvulik ki-po uruk
Plur girl 3PlurSAgr-Cont happy
'The girls are happy.*
AH adjectives except one can occur in this position in the same form as when they modify
nouns in the NP. The exception is lik 'small*. This adjective must be in a reduplicated
form if it occurs in the descriptive clause.
117) modifier in NP:
ri nat lik ki-po a-si-sing
Plur boy small 3PlurSAgr-Cont Cs-Redup-bathe
'The small boys are bathing.*
1 18) complement in descriptive clause:
kA-nA nat kA-po lik-lik
Poss-3Sg boy 3SgSAgr-Cont Redup-small
'His boy is small.*
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2.2.2.4 Quantifiers duk y miang
These two words can function both as adjectives modifying the noun as well as adjectives
in a descriptive clause.
119) adjective in NP:
aiiu miang ki la pAsal
woman many 3PlurSAgr Perf go
'Many women went.*
120) adjective in descriptive clause:
ri airiA k i po miang
Plur woman 3PlurSAgr Cont many
'The women are many.*
The word miang seems to have the meaning of many individuals whereas the word duk
refers to a mass situation. So in the example below the speaker is focussing on the fact that
the water is full of fish.
121) ri icn ki po duk nei lam ah
Plur fish 3PlurSAgr Cont full in water
'The fish are plentiful in the water.* (the water is full of fish)
Both of these quantifiers have their corresponding opposilcs.
duk 'full* vs vauvau 'empty'
miang 'many* vs menlik 'few*
2.2.3 Adverbs
Adverbs function in the verb phrase as modifiers of Verbs.
2.2.3.1 Derived Adverbs
Adjectives and verbs with a causative prefix a- become adverbs.
2.2.3.1.1 Adverbs Derived from Adjectives
Derived Adverb = +a +Adjective
122) ki-po pAsal a-ngAii
3PlurSAgr-Cont walk Cs-weak
'They arc walking slowly.*
123) kup a-UvA
shout Cs-big
'shout loudly*
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Tungak Grammar Essentials
124) parik riA-pa to a-ro
not lSgSAgr-Neg live Cs-good
*I am not feeling well.*
2.2.3.1.2 Adverbs Derived from Verbs
Derived Adverb = +a +Verb
125) kA-la ttak a-tung a nat ang
3SgSAgr-Perf pull Cs-stand Def boy Dcm
'She pulled the boy to standing. 1 (pulled him to a standing position)
The reason I am calling this an adverb rather than a serial verb construction is that the
adverb can be distinguished from the verb by a stress difference.
126) adverb: stress on causal morpheme:
ttak 'a-tung i-\
pull Cs-stand Obj-3Sg
*Pull him up to a standing position. 1
127) transitive verb: stress on verb root:
a-'tung j -a
Cs-stand Obj-3Sg
'Stand it up/
Another example of an adverb derived from a verb:
128) SAng a-putuk anc Rabaul
run Cs-break to Rabaul
4 Fly across to Rabaul.'
2.2.3.2 Non-derived Adverbs
There is a small class of adverbs that is not derived. These items can occur following a
verb but not as verbs in their own right. They are therefore distinguished from verbs in
verb compound constructions (see 2.2.1.2.) as well as distinguished from derived adverbs.
pok
4 back'
1A
'still, yet'
pulakai
'about, from place to place*
lenginang
'already*
pAppA
'alone'
kApA
'also*
129) kA po pAsal pok
3SgSAgr Cont go back
'He is going back.*
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Lesley Fast
130) iiA-Ia SAiig Icnginang
ISgSAgr-Pcrf run already
'I am running already.'
131) Arti an antok »-a vei kx ttiaj-aJa kkpA
2SgSAgr Mot.away tell Obj-3Sg lest 3SgSAgr angry also
'You go tell him lest he be angry also.'
132) namem-po pAsal pAppA
lPIurSAgr-Cont walk alone
* We are walking alone*
In the following example, Uk may occur either preceding the verb or following the verb or
in both positions in the clause.
133) pahk IaJc ki-pa SAtnui Uk i-au
not yet 3PIurSAgr-Neg buy Obj lSg
'They haven't paid me yet.'
1 34) kA-po a-bis Uk i-a
3SgSAgr-Cont Cs-work yet Obj-3Sg
'He is still building it/
135) kA-la SAng puiakai
3SgSAgr-Pcrf run from. place. to.place
'He ran about from place to place/
1 36) ninU Icnginang e rin\
3SgSPrn already at village
'He is already at die village/
1 37) nau P*PP*
lSgSPrn alone
'only me'
138) kA-la ko-kos kApA
3SgSAgr-Perf Redup-board also
'She also boarded (the canoe)/
2.2.4 Intcnsifier
Intensifies mark an intensification of an action or state. This may include the meaning of
intense quantification as 'all'.
2.2.4.1 Non-derived intcnsifier, luai
139) kA po kkovck luai
3SgSAgr Com absent Ints
'There's nothing at all/
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Tungak Grammar Essentials
140) icn lik luai
fish small very
'very small fish*
141) kA-la pAsal luai
3SgSAgr-Perf go Inis
'He has gone all the way.*
142) kA po bil luai vaJ Umx-nA
3SgSAgr Cont thing Ints as fethcr-3SgPoss
'He is exactly like his father.*
2.2.4.2 Derived Intensifies
Derived Intensifies = +a +Adjectivc/Verb
I have seen only three worrJs that are derived in this way. These are rikek 'bad', ssip 'flee*
and ongOS which I have not seen in isolation and am simply glossing as 'all'.
143) Id-la buk angan a-rikek
3SgSAgr-Perf want eat Cs-bad
'They wanted to eat badly.* (They were very hungry)
144) /ia -po buk a-rikek /-a
lSgSAgr-Cont want Cs-bad Obj-3Sg
*I want him badly.* (I like him very much)
1 45) ri vap a-ongos
Plur people Cs-all
'all the people*
146) nem la angan a-ssip a pok ang
lPlurSAgr Perf eat Cs-flee Def food Dem
'We ate all the food.* (or We finished eating the food)
2.3 Prepositions
Prepositions are a closed set of items which precede a noun, pronoun or NP to form a
prepositional phrase. Their functions are described in section 3.3.
le 'from'
ane 'to*
c *at*
as *at*
ta 'instrument*
ve 'accompaniment*
si 'genitive'
tenei 'temporal geniuve'
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2.4 Conjunctions
2.4.1 Phrase Level Conjunctions
The conjunctions na 'and', vc 'with' and vo 'or* join phrases at the phrase level and they
join words to form compound NPs, (See section 3.1.5)
2.4.2 Sentence Level Conjunctions
There are a variety of conjunctions that connect clauses within the sentence. These are
discussed and illustrated in section F.
2.4.3 Discourse Level Conjunctions
At the discourse level one conjunction has been identified. This is the conjunction au
which signals a movement to another main section within the discourse. It is found in all
genre of text and is used by all speakers. For examples of its use in narrative text see
Appendix B.
3 Phrase
3.1 Noun Phrase
The noun phrase functions as an element in the clause. Its head is the only obligatory
clement. This is normally the noun.
3.1.1 Phrase with Noun as Head
(It should first be noted that the possessive pronoun phrase will be discussed in 3.1.3
below. Although it also has the noun as head and is much like the NP discussed in this
section, I discuss it in the section on possessive phrases.)
If we define the head as being the nucleus of the NP we can view the structure of the NP as
having three parts; pre-nuclcus, nucleus, and post-nucleus.
DIAGRAM OF THE NP
Pre-Nucleus Head Post-Nucleus
/DeO CNum ~> Part-whole NOUN Adj 1 Adj2 Itns Quant Dcm
(Spec) [(Nmr+Dcip
In the diagram above, curly braces { ) enclose elements which are in an cilher-or
relationship. The maximum number of elements found in one phrase in text material is
five elements.
Pre-nuclcus Mead Post-Nucleus
147) vuk Uun kudik lik pnlau
piece time short small just
'just a very short time*
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Tungak Grammar Essentials
The morpheme a~ na 'Def marks the NP as being definite. At this point there is further
study needed to determine the exact function of this particle as well as the occurence
possibilities. It is obligatory in some instances:
a) in a phrase with numeral
Spec Nmr Dcf Head
Adjl
148) mang sikei a VAkil
Spec one Dcf cave
'a certain small cave*
lik
small
b) with direct object when the NPO is definite and is not marked for definiteness in some
other way, for example with a possessive pronoun.
149) luk 1c na vua
get first Def betclnut
'First, get the betclnut!*
150) luk lc kA-g vua
get first Poss-lSg betclnut
'First, get my betclnut!'
Following are varied examples of noun phrases:
Spec Nmr Dcf Head Adjl
151) mang ponguA na igenen posok
Spec two Def man white
'two white men*
Head Dcm
152) asAn kc
name Dcm
'this name*
Spec Nmr Dcf Head Adjl Adj2
153) mang sikci a kAUvck miting Iava
Spec one Def dog black big
*a certain big black dog*
Spec Part-Whole Head Quant
154) mang mAUn bil duk
Spec Part-whole thing many
*a group of many things*
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Lesley Fast
Head Adjl Ints
155) ten lik luai
fish+ small Ints
'very small fish*
3.1.2 Phrase with Pronoun as Head
This phrase functions in die same way as the NP in 3.1.1 above. Its head is the pronoun,
the only obligatory element.
Structure: PmP = +Prn ±Ints(l) ±lnts(2)
156) nau pA-ppA lik
lSgSPrn Redup-alonc small
* I alone*
1 57) hriA a-ongos
3PlurSPrn Cs-all
'they all*
158) niruA a-kkorong palau
3SgSPrn Cs-straight just
precisely just she*
3.1.3 Possessive Phrase
3.1.3.1 Possessive Pronoun Phrase
The possessive pronoun phrase can function in all ways that the normal NP does (See
3.1.1 above). Its distinguishing feature is that it has a possessive pronoun as first element
that marks who the possessor is. Us structure is as follow:
Possessive Pronoun Phrase = +PossPm +NP
159) kA-mem keve vua
Poss-lPlurEx Plur bctelnut
'our betclnuls*
160) kA-g lu lik tanginang ke
Poss-lSg house small new Dem
' this new small house of mine*
161) La-ija mang ponguA na nat lik
Poss-3Sg Spec two Def boy small
'his other two small boys*
If a full NP is used to specify the possessor, the NP is attached to the end of the PossPrnP
as follows:
36
Tungak Grammar Essentials
162) k\~n\ nat a Vulau
Poss-3Sg boy Def Vulau
'Vulau'sson*
3.1.3.2 Possessive Phrase Using Genitive Marker if si
Structure: Possessive Phrase = +NP +ifsi +NP
3.1.3.2.1 Inalienably Possessed Nouns i
Inalienably possessed nouns are followed by the genitive marker L
1 63 ) pukun -in a i ingiu
body-3SgPoss Gen ghost
4 body of a ghost*
1 64 ) Unu -ri a i ri Makago
father-3PlurPoss Gen Plur Makago
'Makago's father (Makago with his siblings)*
3.1.3.2.2 Alienably Possessed Nouns (si)
Alienably possessed nouns are followed by the Genitive marker si,
165) nat si Siavor
boy Gen Siavor
'Siavor's son*
166) kAUvek si ngi-g
dog Gen ?-lSg
*my dog*
3.1.3.2.3 Genitive of Source
The Genitive marker i also marks a looser type of possession, that of source or belonging
to.
,167) ri nat i laong
Plur boy Gen far
The boys/young men of far away (specifically, Tigak islands).*
168) igenen i ring kc
man Gen place this
'a man of this place (a local man)*
3.1.4 Noun Phrases in Apposition
Two NPs can occur together without any conjunction between them. I view these two NPs
as appositional in the sense that one is not embedded in the other. This is borne out by the
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Lesley Fast
fact that each NP has Us own intonation contour. This is in contrast to the possessive
pronoun phrase in 3.1.3.1 above.
The purpose of the second NP is to further clarify the first NP. This construction can be
used only with persons in the context of possession and so far only proper names have
been found in the second NP.
Structure: Appositional Noun Phrase = +NP +NP(namc)
1 69) JU -£ aitu Kerck
Poss-lSg woman Kerek
4 my wife, Kerck*
3.1.5 Noun Phrases Conjoined
This is a list construction and functions as one clement in the Clause. Three types of
Conjoined NPs are found:
1. Signifying a close relationship between the NPs. A maximum of two can be conjoined.
The connector is vc.
170) Liu vc p*ngA
swect.potato with greens
'sweet potatoes with greens*
171) namcmlong vc kA-g ain\
lPlurExDl with Poss-lSg woman
*wc two with my wife (my wife and I) f
2. A list with elements more loosely related. The connector is na and it often occurs
between each element of the list but sometimes only between the last two.
172) ri vap Uva ri a/7u na ri nat lik
Plur people big Plur woman and Plur boy small
*the big people, women and children*
3. An alternative NP using vo 'or*.
173) ha ka snk a I ur vo kirak?
lSgSAgr Int plant banana or taro
'Should I plant banana or taro?'
3.1.6 Question Word as Head of Phrase
The two Question words, sa 'what* and si *who\ can function as head of the NP. These
phrases are restricted as to the number of elements allowed. Only the plural marker ri may
precede the head. An adverb that in some way restricts the identity of what or whom the
question word is referring to is the only element allowed to follow the head.
38
Tungak Grammar Essentials
1 74) ri si a-kkorong?
Plur who Cs-straight
'who precisely?'
175) sa a-liu
what Cs-pass
*what along (etcetera)'
In an echo question where the speaker is repealing someone's statement because he did not
hear one word, the NP has as head the question word and can then also have the usual
modifiers of the noun phrase.
176) First speaker: k\-m mang vuk ei
Poss-2Sg Spec piece tree
'your piece of wood*
177) Second speaker: k\-g mang vuk sa?
Poss-lSg Spec piece what
'my piece of what?'
3.1.7 Headless Noun Phrase
Numerals and some part-whole morphemes may stand on their own as head of die NP.
They do however always imply a noun which is usually retrievable from the context.
178) mang sites k\ ta ta'mau k\-ri ur
Spec one 3SgSAgr Past steal Poss-3Plur banana
'Some one stole their bananas.*
179) mang keve ainA ki po luk a mang rukun palau
Spec Plur woman 3PlurSAgr Cont get Dcf Spec Part-Whole just
'Some women get just a few (crabs)/
The question word, poison *how many* can also function in this way.
180) /u ta luk a poisAn palau
ISgSAgr Past get Def how. many just
*I got a few only.'
3.2 Verb Phrase
In the section on the verb, it was noted that four morphemes together with the verb root are
being analysed as making up the verb word. These are:
1) -a/, possibly a transitivity marker
2) ang-, denoting reciprocal action
3) a-, a causative morpheme
4) U-, spontaneous intransitive marker
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Lesley Fast
Verb compounding was also discussed in that section as being a phenomenon of the verb.
In this section the rest of the elements that make up the verb phrase will be discussal.
Although reduplication is strictly a morphological process of the verb word it is discussed
in this section since it marks duralivc aspect.
The VP functions as the only obligatory element in the verbal clause.
The VP has as its head the verb. The verb and a subject agreement marker are the only
obligatory elements in the phrase.
3.2.1 Structure of the Verb Phrase
The structure of the verb phrase can be viewed as having three parts; 1) the nucleus i.e. the
verb root, 2) die pre-nucleus elements, those having to do generally with tense, aspect and
mood, and 3) the post-nucleus elements, the adverbial modifiers and the NPO.
The structure of the VP can be diagrammed as follows:
VERB PHRASE
Pre-Nuclcus Nucleus Post-Nucleus
+SAgr±InL±Pbl±Tensc±Mot±Perf±Cont±Hab±Neg +Verb ±Adv±Itns ±NPO
3.2.2 Elements of the Verb Phrase
3.2.2.1 Subject Agreement
This moq>hcmc is normally obligatory in the VP. In a command, it is omitted at the
speaker's choice. (See also section 4.3 clause modifications. For a listing of all the subject
agreement markings see section 2.1.2.1.3 figure 6.)
181) ki lbs
3PlurSAgr laugh
*they laugh'
182) Uta mc angan
lPlurlncSAgr Mot.toward eat
'Let's eat/
3.2.2.2 Intention ka
The intention marker ka marks the altitude of the speaker as being one of desire or
intention to do the action. It can occur only with first person singular and never co-occurs
with the possibility mood marker b.
183) ha ka an aniok /-a
ISgSAgr Int Mot.away say Obj-3Sg
'I shall go tell him.'
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Tungak Grammar Essentials
3.2.2.3 Possibility Mood -b
The marker -b follows the subject agreement. It expresses the speaker's view that the action
or slate might be true. 1 have not been able to determine exactly what the degree of
probability is in the mind of the speakers. It appears that mis marker may only occur with
some of the subject Agreement person markers, namely first, second and third singular and
second and third plural. If the same possibility mood is marked with the other persons it
must be done with a free form adverb ngAning 'perhaps'. It is possible for the marker -b
and the free form to co-occur.
1 84) ku-b ta a-r-ai ani-A
2SgSAgr-Pbl Past Cs-see-? Obj-3Sg
'You might have seen him.'
185) ki-b la SAng e pal-pal soke ngAning
3PlurSAgr-Pbl Perf run at Redup-area that perhaps
'They might have run (by boat) in the other area (the other route).'
3.2.2.4 Tense ta
Only past tense is marked. And this only if it is necessary to set the time of the action in
the past. If from the context the past tense is implicit in the discourse, it is not marked. A
story, for example, will begin with the first two to four clauses having this morpheme in
the VP. Then all subsequent clauses on the event line of the story will not have this
morpheme. Another example of the use of this morpheme is when a particular point in
time in the past is in question. For example questions like, "On which day did he arrive?"
or "Where were you?" must have the past tense marked.
186) ku ta ago e voi?
2SgSAgr Past stay at where
'Where were you?*
187) angisan ku ta serei?
when 2SgSAgr Past arrive
'When did you come?*
The first clause in a narrative account:
188) nem ta pAsal ane Vaungung
lPlurEx Past go to Vaungung
'We went to Vaungung.'
3.2.2.5 Motion Relative to Speaker an, mc
Actions that are perceived as involving the movement of the actor from one place to
another will have the relevant motion marking. Actions perceived as moving toward the
deictic centre (the reference point of the speaker or the reference point of a character in a
discourse) is marked with me and actions moving away from this deictic centre will be
marked with an.
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Lesley Fast
189) kA me la scrci c rinA
3SgSAgr Mot. toward Pcrf arrive at village
'He (came and) arrived at the village/
190) tATA an scrci si ngi-tiA
lPlurlncSAgr Mot.away arrive at ?-3Sg
'Lets (go and) arrive at his place.' (Lets go see him)
191) ku me sinong e kkc
2SgSAgr Mot.toward sit at here
'You come sit here/
192) John kA an lAng-i kAriu
John 3SgSAgr Mot.away chop-? bamboo
'John will go and cut bamboo/
The following two examples are both taken from the same story describing a day trip from
Umbukul to another village, Vaungung. At both of these points in the story the speaker's
point of reference is Uinbukul.
193) near beginning of story:
na namem an la scrci e Vaungung
and lPlurExSAgr Mot.away Pcrf arrive at Vaungung
'And we arrived in Vaungung/
194) end of story:
na namem me la screi e Umbukul
and lPlurExSAgr Mot.toward Pcrf arrive at Umbukul
'And we arrived at Umbukul/
3.2.2.6 Perfective Aspect la
This morpheme is very prolific in narrative material and in conversations. It marks the
action or state as completed in the view of the speaker. If die free morpheme lenginang
'already' occurs, the perfective marker, la invariably occurs also.
195) da (a la angan lenginang
lSgSAgr Past Pcrf eat already
*I have eaten already/
196) ku la rot?
2SgSAgr Pcrf sleep
'Were you asleep?*
197) jm la mAsung
lSgSAgr Pcrf satisfied
'I am satisfied/ (polite way of declining more food)
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Tungak Grammar Essentials
1 98) ihs va uk mi la s\ng
laicr morning 2PlurSAgr Perf run
Tomorrow you will be running by boat (you will have fell).*
3.2.2.7 Continuative Aspect po
The continuative aspect marks the action or state as continuing over a period of lime.
1 99) ki ta po angan ang-pok-pok-ai ani-rU
3PlurSAgr Past Cont eat Rccip-Redup-back-? Obj-3Plur
'They were eating each other.*
200) k\ po rot
3SgSAgr Cont sleep
'She is sleeping/
3.2.2.8 Habitual Aspect uli
The habitual aspect marker uli signifies that the speaker views the action or state of the
clause as constantly happening or being in effect.
201) kA po uli screi a~duk
3SgSAgr Cont Hab arrive Cs-many
'It happens all the time.*
202) Ax ta po uli a-togon Uun ro-ron ani-riA si ngoto
3SgSAgr Past Cont Hab Cs-have lime Rcdup-good Bnf-3Plur Pur fishing
'There was always a good time for them for fishing.*
3.2.2.9 Negation Uv
The negation marker tAv is different than the clausal negation marker parik ... pa. It has the
meaning of 'fail to* and relates directly to the action of the verb. It occurs both in
declarative and negated clauses. This negation is not as forceful as the fully negated clause.
203) Ax po Uv mengen a~ro
3SgSAgr Cont Ncg speak Cs-good
'He is failing to speak well.*
204) /u po Uv mAhngAS
ISgSAgr Cont Ncg clear
'I fail to understand.*
3.2.2.10 Adverb
In the adverb slot various adverbs occur to modify the verb or state. These can be both
derived and non-derived adverbs. There may be two adverbs in one VP, the first one being
a derived one and the second one being non-derived.
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Lesley Fast
205) (\a ka pAsal a-liu pot one si k\-g lu
ISgSAgr Int go Cs-pass back to Gen Poss-lSg house
Tm going along back to my house/
206) Us-ig kA~po a-bis a-nudot
sibling.samc.sex-lS^Poss 3SgSAgr-Cont Cs-work Cs-strong
'My brother is working hard.*
3.2.2.11 Intensification
The iniensificrs discussed in section 2.2.3.1 also occur in the VP to intensify adverbs.
207) Us-ig kA po a-bis a-mAdot luai
sibling.same.sex-lSgPoss 3SgSAgr Cont Cs-work Cs-strong Ints
'My broLher is working very hard.*
3.2.2.12 Durative Aspect
Duraiive aspect is marked in the VP by reduplication. Most usually the reduplication is of
the first consonant and vowel of the verb root. (Note that the consonant weakens to the
short form)
208) ri nat lik ki po U-tUngAtn
Plur boy small 3PiurSAgr Com Kedup-sing
'The small boys are singing.*
209) ri idiiA ki an la U-Uun ani kcve pok
Plur woman 3PlurSAgr Mot.away Perf Redup-bake Obj Plur food
'The women (went and) cooked the food.*
Some examples have also been found where the whole verb root reduplicates and the
meaning seems to be the same as die first type of reduplication.
210) ki po UngA-UngA dck kAiiu
3PlurSAgr Cont Rcdup-chop split bamboo
'They are chop-splitting bamboo.'
Another type of reduplication is used to mark the stretching out of the action. This has
been seen only with the verbs of motion like *go\ *run\ and *chase\ and the verb *stay\
This last verb is used in that way to signify a passing of time before the next action.
211) kA la pAsal pAsal pAsal pAsal pAsal
3SgSAgr Perf go go go go go
na kA an la serci e rinA
and 3SgSAgr Mot.away Perf arrive at village
'He went and went and went ... and he arrived at the village. 1
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Tungak Grammar Essentials
212) kA la ago ago ago na nM/cArap k\ la sUng
3SgSAgr Perf stay stay stay and sun 3SgSAgr Pcrf descend
*He waited and waited and waited and the sun set.'
3.2.2.13 Noun Phrase Object
It need only be mentioned here that the NPO is obligatory following transitive verbs and
that its order of occurrence is last element in the VP.
213) parik kA la pa angan J-A
not 3SgSAgr Perf Neg eat Obj-3Sg
'He did not eat him.'
214) namem la angan a-ssip a pok ang
lPlurExSAgr Perf eat Cs-all Def food Dem
* We ate all the food.* (We finished eating)
215) ku me longong a ri-nnA-m
2SgSAgr Mottoward hear Def Hon-mother-2SgPoss
4 Come and listen to your mother.'
3.2.3 Some Examples of Longer VP's
216) ki ta me la angan
3PlurSAgr Past Mot Perf eat
'they came and ate*
217) Ax po uli angan a-LvA
3SgSAgr Cont Hab eat Cs-big
'he always eats much'
218) ki ta po UngAm a-l ava luai
3PlurSAgr Past Cont sing Cs-big Itns
'they were singing very loudly*
219) kA po saup a-rikek i-au
3SgSAgr Cont hit Cs-bad Obj-lSg
'It (sickness) is hitting me very hard.*
3.3 Prepositional Phrases
3.3.1 Location
3.3.1.1 Directional Adverbs
Verbs of motion are often modified with directional adverbs. These adverbs are formed by
a causal morpheme prefixed to a small class of verbs. (See also section 2.2.2 on
derivation.)
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Lesley Fast
Tliis section is covered here rather than in the section on the verb phrase simply to keep the
topic of location in one place even though they arc not prepositional phrases.
It could also be argued that these phrases are compound verbs rather than verbs plus
adverbs. However, since there are other compound verb constructions that do not have any
affixation in them (see section 2.3.2). I am treating these directional phrases as verb plus
adverb because they are the same in structure as the VPs that have adverbs which are
derived from adjectives. Note the following pair of examples:
220) pAsal a-ngAii
go Cs-weak
walk slowly*
221) pAsal a-siAng
go Cs-descend
4 go down*
These directional adverbs arc constructed in the same way as the earlier mentioned derived
adverbs.
Directional Adverb = +Causative +Verb
222) ki la SAng a-lak anc Kavieng
3PlurSAgr Pcrf run Cs-climb to Kavieng
*They ran (by boat) up to Kavieng/
223) nam la (1a\ a-siAjig i-a
lPIurSAgr Pcrf drag Cs-descend Obj-3Sg
*We dragged it (canoe) down (to the water).*
Verbs that form into directional adverbs:
a-lak
'climb*
-> 'up'
a-sUng
* descend*
-> 'down'
a-kasang
'come*
-> 'on level toward speaker*
a-liu
'pass by*
-> 4 on level away from speaker*
a-ulit
4 go around*
-> 'around*
224) nemiong la kAlip a-na-nnap a-siAng
IDlEx Pcrf paddle Cs-Rcdup-careful Cs-descend
*We (two) paddled carefully down (west).*
Note: When the verb pAsal 4 go* is modified by these adverbs, it may shorten to only the
first phoneme p.
225) kA p-a-kasang ngAnlAk
3SgSAgr go-Cs-come later
'He will come here later on.*
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Tungak Grammar Essentials
Note the full form which occurs frequently in careful speech:
226) kA pAsal a-kasang ng\nUk
3SgSAgr go Cs-come later
'He will come here later on.*
3.3.1.2 Prepositional Phrases of Location
There is a set of prepositions that can occur as the head of the locative prepositional phrase.
le *fronV
a/ie 'to'
e *at*
227) e Mctemaung
at Mctemaung
'at Metemaung (village)'
228) mi ta pAsal le voi?
2PlurSAgr Past go from where
'Where did you come from?'
There is a set of location morphemes that precede the NP but follow LocPrep when they
co-occur. A few of these are listed below. Unlike LocPrep these items can occur without a
following nominal and can also be suffixed by person marking to refer to a full NP, as in
(232). They are therefore analysed as locative nominals.
ngere 'side'
no 'front'
mung 'back'
nci 'inside*
229) to kA po tavap le ngere bAtig
wave 3SgSAgr Cont bounce from side rock
'The wave bounces back from the rock.'
230) ki la p-a-lak ane nei In
3PlurSAgr Perf go-Cs-climb to in house
'They went up into the house.*
231) kx po mAtung e mung-i-m
3SgSAgr Cont lie at back-Gcn-2Sg
'It is lying at back of you (behind you)/
3.3.2 Instrument
To express instrument the preposition ta is used.
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Lesley Fast
232) Sition kA-ta UngA i-A ta ngAnig
Sition 3SgSAgr-Past chop Obj-3Sg Instr axe
'Sition chopped it with an axe.'
3.3.3 Benefaction, Malefaction and Recipient
Benefaction, malefaction and recipient are expressed using the particle ani.
233) benefaction:
n\-ka UngA ani-m
lSgSAgr-Int chop Bnf-2Sg
'I'll chop (wood) for you.*
234) malefaction:
kA~Ia tangat ani- a
3SgSAgr-Perf dawn Mlf-3Sg
'Dawn broke on him/ (cutting short his night's work)
235) recipient:
ki-a a- Ms ten ani ri vap
3PlurSAgr-Past Cs-give fish Bnf-Plur people
'They gave fish to the people/
3.3.4 Accompaniment
Accompaniment is expressed with the use of a prepositional phrase. The preposition that
signals accompaniment is ve.
236) numai ve si e iang?
2SgSAgr with who at there
'Who is there with you?*
237) nA-ka a-u-ai ve namilong
lSgSAgr-Int Cs-bc.with? with 2DlSPrn
*I want to go with you (two)/
The adverb kuvul 'together* is used in an accompaniment construction when the action is
done together by both the participants of the clause.
238) nemlong la pAsal kuvul ve mang igenen
1 DIExS Agr Perf go together with another man
*Wc (two) went together with another man/
The Accompaniment construction does not nccesarily imply addition. That is to say, the
participants of two NPs that arc conjoined do not nccesarily total the sum of the
individuals in both NPs. Whereas in the last three examples addition of the two phrases
was the case, there are also cases like the following example which refer to two, not three,
people. In the mind of the speaker this form perhaps signifies a greater intimacy between
the participants.
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Tungak Grammar Essentials
239) namemhng ve papa
lDlExSPrn with dad
* Dad and T
When the suffix -ai is attached to the preposition, ve, the resultant meaning seems to be
that of an inner emotion or quality that is with a person, ani obligatorily follows this
suffix.
240) kA la U-pASvk ve-ai ani jtiataJa
3SgSAgr Perf Proc-arise with-? Obj anger
'He got up with anger.'
3.3.5 Time
3.3.5.1 Days
Days of the week are borrowed terms. They function in the time word position of a time
phrase. The genitive particle si, marks the time phrase as definite. Since days of the week
arc definite, the particle is obligatory in this context
241) UrA-po uli lotu si Sande
IPlurlncSAgr-Cont Hab worship Gen Sunday
'We always worship on Sundays.
242) ki-ta-po ago e Kavieng lung si Pode
3PlurSAgr-Past-Cont be at Kavieng until Gen Thurday
'They stayed in Kavieng until Thursday.*
Days of the week also function as nouns; in the following example as subject of the clause.
243) Mandc suke kA Uun rikek ani-rA
Monday that 3SgSAgr day bad Mlf-lPlurlnc
'Next Monday will be a bad day for us.'
'Yesterday', 'today* and 'tomorrow* are lexical items with some of them constructed by
some compounding.
244) ki ta screi anongo
3PlurSAgr Pas arrive yesterday
'They arrived yesterday.
245) anongo-i-nA (person suffix)
yesterday-Gen-3Sg
4 the day before yesterday *
246) kA-ta serci anginang va uk
3SgSAgr-Past arrive today morning
'He arrived this morning.'
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Lesley Fast
24 7 ) ihs- VAuk k\ scrci
later-morning 3SgSAgr arrive
'He will arrive tomorrow.'
The two time words anongo 'yesterday* and iles-VAuk 'tomorrow' are both used in the
strict sense and also in the general sense to mean the past and the future.
248) iles-VAiik h-M inatus ki saka to an?
later-morning Poss-lPlurlnc children 3PlurSAgr how live ?
'How will our children live in the future?*
3.3.5.2 Referential
These morphemes arc of two types:
1) Those referring to absolute lime.
anangan 'in time past*
k\r\A 'at present time'
ngAnUk 'in future time of same day*
iles 'in future time after today*
249) kAiiA palau ki la po scrci
now just 3PlurSAgr Perf Cont arrive
'Just now they have arrived.*
250) kA a-iogon a kivung ngAnlAk
3SgSAgr Cs-have Dcf meeting latcr.today
'There will be a meeting later today.*
2) Relative to a specific point in lime. These are constructions using a locative phrase. The
locative lime preposition ai is used interchangeably with the spatial preposition e. It is
possible that the original meaning distinction was clear but that this distinction is not
preserved in speech anymore.
251) c mung i lu-ri niAtAn angan
at back Gen Poss-3PIur part/whole eat
'after their feast*
252) ai no i tangat
at front Gen dawn
'before dawn*
3.3.5.3 Time of Day
The morpheme tend 'time of day* prefixes the various times that the day is divided into to
specify lime of day. It functions as a definite preposition, fixing the time. This is the same
function as the genitive si in the lime phrases discussed in 3.3.4.1 above.
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Tungak Grammar Essentials
253) ki ta mikA mik* lung tenei tangat
3PlurSAgr Past Redup dance until Prep dawn
'They danced until dawn/
254) ki ta serei tenei sa
3PlurSAgr Past arrive Prep what
4 What time of day did they arrive?*
The times of day may be joined to be more specific:
255) /ia ta p-a-lak tend ngelik vong
lSgSAgr Past go-Cs-climb Prep afternoon dark
*I went up at dusk.'
The morphemes for times of day are used prolifically as Adverbs of time.
256) k\ ta usen VAiik
3SgSAgr Past rain morning
* It rained in the morning.'
257) ru ta maiak vong
lSgSAgr Past fish dark
'I fished at night/
258) ki a-bis ngelik i-a
3PIurSAgr Cs-build afternoon Obj-3Sg
'They will build it in the afternoon/
4 Clause
The clause functions as an element in the sentence. It is the only obligatory element in the
sentence.
There are verbal and non-verbal clauses. Verbal clauses have a VP as head of the clause.
Non-verbal clauses do not have a verb.
4.1 Non-verbal Clause
4.1.1 Equative Clause
The equative clause has as a free pronoun as subject. The NP comment must have the
definite noun marker a. Its basic structure is:
Clause ~ +Subject Pronoun +NP
259) nau a Kambi
lSgSPrn Def Kambi
4 1 am Kambi/
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Lesley Fast
260) numai a igcncn
2SgSPrn Def man
'Youareaman.'
261) niniA na si?
3SgSPrn Dcf who
'Who is he?'
262) numai a tukul-ai i kcvc bil a-ongos
2SgSPrn Def base-? Gen Plur ihing Cs-all
' You (God) art (he reason of all things. '
When Lhe equative clause is negated il has the following structure:
Clause = ±Subject Pronoun +parik +ta +NP
The function of the particle ta is not clear at this point. It may be functioning like the
definite noun marker a since it seems to be replacing it in this construction. It also seems
to be taking the place of the negating particle pa in the negated verbal clause, (see 4.3.1
below) It will here be glossed with *?'.
In this first example the identity of the man is retrievable from the discourse and hence in
this utterance the first NP is omitted.
263) parik Ui igcncn 1c kkc
not ? man from here
*(He) is not a man from here.*
In the next example the first NP is filled by a demonstrative.
264) kAHA parik ta n\Ani
Dem not ? bird
This is not a bird/
265) Nuvat parik ta nat si ngi-g
Nuvat not ? boy Gen ?-lSg
'Nuvat is not my son.'
4.1.2 Possessive Clause
The possessive clause is characterized by the particle ta coming between the two phrases.
The basic structure of the clause is:
Clause = +Possesive NP +ta +NP
266) kA-g kAVulik ta Ngurh
Poss-lSg girl ? Ngurle
'Ngurle is my daughter.*
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Tungak Grammar Essentials
267) tipas-ig ta Togan
sister'sxhild-lSgPoss ? Togan
Togan is my nephew (sister's child).*
268) ke Anasi ta naip
Poss Anasi ? knife
*It is Anasi's knife.*
269) ke si ta vol tanginang ke
Poss who ? canoe new Dem
'Whose new canoe is this?*
4.1.3 Stative Clause
4.1.3.1 Existential Clause
The existential clause is characterized by the obligatory marking of subject agreement and
optionally also tense and aspect. Its structure is diagrammed below:
Clause = ±NP +SAgr ±Tcnsc/Aspect +NP
270) nau n\ po umA.-riA
lSgSPrn ISgSAgr Cont fathcr-3PlurPoss
4 Iam their father.*
271) tainau Jbi po lau rikek
steal 3SgSAgr Cont custom bad
'Stealing is a bad custom.*
4.1.3.2 Descriptive Clause
The function of this clause is to describe a thing or a state.The description is expressed in
the form of a complement predicate. The subject may be a full NP or it may be marked
only by subject agreement person marking depending on whether the context requires it.
This clause may also be an impersonal type of clause where the predicate complement
makes an impersonal comment on the general situation as in the English sentence *lt is
cold.*
The structure of this clause:
Clause - ±NP(Topic) +SAgr ±Tense/Asp +Prcdicate Complement
272) ri kAvulik ki po mara-marak
Plur girl 3PlurSAgr Cont Redup-happy
'The girls are happy.'
273) NP topic implicit:
ha po ma-mmal a-rikek
ISgSAgr Cont Redup-tired Cs-bad
*I am very tired.*
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Lesley Fast
274) impersonal descriptive clause:
Aa la ngclik
3SgSAgr Perf afternoon
*Il is afternoon.'
4.1.4 Comparison Clause
In a comparison clause the comparison is expressed by a descriptive clause and a
comparison NP prefixed by ani.
Structure: Comparison Clause = +Descriptivc Clause +ani +NP
275) Kavicng kA po vungA-vungA ani Tingwon
Kavicng 3SgSAgr Com Red up-far Comp Tingwon
'Kavicng is farther away than Tingwon.*
276) vongo kci Jca po ro ani vongo i jtha
pig wild 3SgSAgr Com good Comp pig Gen village
* Wild pig is belter (to eat) than domestic pig.*
In a superlative comparison the comparison NP specifics every possibility of comparison
by the use of an intensifier.
277) k\ n\ la kA po taviri ani h lu a-ongos
Poss 3Sg house 3SgSAgr Com large Comp Plur house Cs-all
'His house is big compared to all the houses.* (biggest of all the houses)
In order to cover comparison in one place I will here also describe comparison where the
degree of the quality is the same. The above type of structure using ani expresses a
difference between the two things compared. When something is like something else two
other connectives may be used, asukAng Mike* and val 'the same as*. The word asukAng
takes a complement after it and this can be a phrase, clause or sentence, whereas val is like
a preposition taking after it a NP. Some examples:
278) k\ po ar-a-r~ai asukAng ta parik ki pa iuias
3SgSAgr Com Rcdup-Cs-sce-? like ? not 3PlurSAgr Neg know
*It looks (seems) like they don't know.*
279) kA po bil val Unu-nA
3SgSAgr Cont thing ihe.same.as father-3SgPoss
'He is a thing the same as his father.* (He resembles his father.)
4.1.5 Relative Clause
The relative clause functions as a modifier of a noun. There arc two types of relative clause.
One is a full clause and die other has a reduced VP as well as some other features which
will be discussed below.
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Tungak Grammar Essentials
4.1.5.1 Full Form Relative Clause
In ihis type of relative clause the intonation contour covers the NP together with the
relauvc clause thus joining them into one unit which functions as a NP. (Note that mis
intonation contour is the contrastive feature between mis type of relative clause and the left
dislocated NPO discussed in 4.3.6.1 below.)
From preliminary investigation it seems that subject, direct and indirect object, instrument
and location at least can be relativised.
280) ring ang vap sukc ki po ang-tung si ngi-iu
place Dem people Dcm 3PIurSAgr Cont Recip-stand Gen ?-3Sg
'the place those people are standing at it'
free: 'the place where those people are standing*
28 1 ) icn ang ki ia a~Uis i-mem
fish Dem 3PlurSAgr Past Cs-give Obj-lPlurEx
ta ttA-ru A* ta po vok
Instr ?-3Sg 3SgSAgr Past Cont rotten
'The fish mat they gave us was rotten.*
4.1.5.2 Reduced Form Relative Clause
A relative clause of mis type does not have subject agreement marking. If there is an overt
subject NP it is clause final and it is expressed in an oblique phrase following the particle
in. If the noun has the demonstrative ang this will occur after the VP of the relauvc clause
and before the oblique subject. The genitive particle si/i sometimes links the noun to the
modifying relative clause. It is not clear yet what the real function of this particle is.
282) kAUvek i la saup ang ta Nuvat lu la ssip
dog Gen Perf hit Dem Instr Nuvat 3SgSAgr Perf flee
'The dog that Nuvat hit has fled.*
Some more examples:
283) vap la angan a-UvA
people Perf eat Cs-big
'people who eat a lot*
284) vap po tauk i mat-mat ang
people Cont owner Gen Redup-die Dcm
'people who own the corpse'
285) riA ta a-r-ai ani-m si po pAsal a-lak
lSgSAgr Past Cs-sec-? Obj-2Sg Gen Cont go Cs-climb
*I saw you going up.*
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Lesley Fast
4.2 Verbal Clause
The verbal clause is made up of a nucleus (the VP) and peripheral elements (other phrases).
As was discussed in section 3.2 the VP includes the NPO in transitive clauses. The VP is
the only obligatory element in the verbal clause.
In general all the peripheral elements occur after the nucleus. When they are fronted, and
this includes the NPO, it is for reasons of focus (see 4.3). The time phrase is viewed as a
peripheral element in the sentence rather than in the clause.
The structure of the Verbal Clause:
Clause = +NPS +VP ±Post-nuclear phrases
The following phrase types can fill the post-nuclear phrase slot: location, instrument,
accompaniment, benefactivc, inalefactive and recipient.
The number of post-nuclear phrases in a single clause very rarely excedes one phrase. The
only multiple occuience found so far is where two locative phrases occur where both are
referring to the sane location and the second one is an elaboration of the first one.
286) namem la mikA-mikA i-a e kke e Umbukul
lPIurExSAgr Perf Redup-dance Obj-3Sg at here at Umbukul
* We danced it (a dance) here at Umbukul.'
Although it is tempting to force a greater number of phrases into the post-nuclear slot, I
will for now assume that it is unnatural since I do not find it supported with data. With
more text material I suspect it will be possible to make a more satisfactory analysis.
For examples of these phrases in the clause see the examples in section 3.3 above.
The verbal clauses can be classified into several types on die basis of their structure;
clauses taking a complement, transitive clauses, intransitive clauses, and di-transitive
clauses. These will be described below.
4.2.1 Clauses Taking a Complement
these clauses are characterized by the class of verbs that occur in them and by the speech
introducer ta which introduces the complement. Transitive and intransitive clauses can take
complements after them.
Basic structure:
Clause = +Clause +/a +Complement
Indirect and direct speech is not distinguished by a difference in marking. The actual
content of the speech will make it clear which one it is.
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Tungak Grammar Essentials
4.2.1.1 Direct Speech
287) Mar kA la antok ta nau n\ an Ink kkut
Mar 3SgSAgr Perf say Sintr lSgSPrn lSgSAgr Mot.away get firewood
1c na mi ko-kko-ai e kke
first and 2PlurSAgr Redup-wait-? at here
'Mar said, "I will get firewood first, and you wait here.'"
Direct speech, although it will most often have the particle ta, sometimes does not have it.
This is in cases where the action of speech is within a very fast sequence of actions.
288) U-pASuk kx la antok {...} vong vong vong
Proc-gct.up 3SgSAgr Pcrf say dark dark dark
*(He) got up and said, "Dark, dark, dark."'
4.2.1.2 Indirect Speech
289) 7M la sokottuk i-a ta kx me screi si ngi-rA
lSgSAgr Perf plead Obj-3Sg Sintr 3SgSAgr come arrive at ?-lPlurInc
*I begged him to come to us.'
4.2.1.3 Other Verbs taking a Complement
Although in this type of clause the complement is not actual speech, it is related in that it
is thought or sensory perception. The term 'speech introducer* will therefore still be used
to gloss /a
290) kA po a-ra-r-ai asukxng ta parik kA pa
3SgSAgr Cont Cs-Redup-see-? like Sintr not 3SgSAgr Neg
longong i-au
hear Obj-lSg
*It looks as if he doesn't hear me.*
29 1 ) /Li po nius ta ri nnA-nx ki po malcpen
lSgSAgr Cont know Sintr Hon mothcr-3SgPoss 3PlurSAgr Cont sick
'I know that his mother is sick.*
292) ku po mAlAngAS ta ku ta bil a-rikek
2SgSAgr Cont clear Sintr 2SgSAgr Past do Cs-bad
*Do you realize (are you clear) that you did wrong?*
4.2.2 Transitive Clause
The characteristic of this clause is that it has an obligatory object in the VP. The verb of
this clause may be either a non-derived transitive verb or a transitive verb derived by a
causative prefix.
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Lesley Fast
293) k\ id rAung a vongo
3SgSAgr Pert" kill Dcf pig
'He killed the pig.*
294) ki la UngA suai am ci
3PlurSAgr Perf chop remove Obj tree
'They chopped away the tree/
295) nx ta a-tung a lu ke
lSgSAgr Past Cs-stand Dcf house Dcm
'I creeled this house.*
4.2.3 Intransitive Clause
The verb in the intransitive clause cannot lake an object. There is no difference in the
structure of clauses with derived or non-derived verbs.
296) namom la serci e Vaungung
lPlurExSAgr Perf arrive at Vaungung
* We arrived at Vaungung.*
297) kA-nA lu k\ po lung ngere lo
Poss-3Sg house 3SgSAgr Cont stand beside shore
'His house stands beside die shore.*
298) angus ang kx la tA-ttok e pangkul
vine Dcm 3SgSAgr Perf Proc-tear at lop
The vine tore at die top.*
4.2.4 Di-transitive Clause
The di-transitive clause has an obligatory direct object and an indirect object which could
be called a benelactive phrase (BnfP). There are two types of structure that occur
4.2.4. 1 Direct Object Precedes the Indirect Object
Di-transitive Clause = +VP +BntP
299) a-llis a icn ke ani ri nnA~m
Cs-give Dcf fish Dcm Bnf 3Plur(Hon) molher-2SgPoss
'Give this fish to your mother.*
4.2.4.2 Indirect Object Precedes the Direct Object
Di-transitive Clause = +VP(includcs beneficiary) +to +IO
300) a-llis a ri nnx-m ta ien ke
Cs-give Def Hon mothcr-2SgPoss Instr fish Dcm
'Give your mother this fish.'
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Tungak Grammar Essentials
Structurally this clause is identical to the transitive clause expressing instrument. Therefore
it seems to me that the distinguishing feature is the semantic class of the verb. So the
following example is not di-transitive but nongrammalical.
301) *Sition JU ta Ung-ai a ri /iaa-ha ta kkut
Silion 3SgSAgr Past chop-? Def Hon mother- lSgPoss Instr firewood
'Sition chopped his mother with firewood/
4.3 Clause Modifications
In this section I am not describing other types of clauses. These modifications apply to
clauses in general.
4.3.1 Negation
Structure of Negation = +parik +Pers/Tense/Asp +pa +Vcrb/Adj
302) parik k\-pa to
not 3SgSAgr-Neg good
'It is not good.'
303) parik ki-pa SAmui Uk i-au
not 3PlurSAgr-Neg pay yet Obj-lSg
'They have not paid me yet.'
4.3.2 Imperative
The imperative clause has a simplified VP. Very commonly the imperative will consist
only of the verb.
304) tung!
stand
'Get up!'
Person, the perfective aspect and motion may optionally be in the imperative clause. Other
than those restrictions the clause is just like a regular clause
305) mi an ngAut nci kakao
2PlurSAgr Mot.away cut.grass in cocoa
'You (plural) go cut grass in the cocoa (plantation)/
306) la a-si-sing!
Pcrf Cs-Rcdup-wash
'Wash yourself! '
307) ku mc angan
2SgSAgr Mot.toward eat
'You come eat/
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Lesley Fast
4.3.3 Prohibition (Negative Imperative)
Prohibition Clause Structure = +ago +ta +Verb +an
The particle ta is signalling- that a complement is following the verb ago *stay\ The verb is
stripped of affixes as in the positive imperative clause. Person only may be marked. The
particle an which seems to be obligatory in this structure is a problem in that I have not
i>ecn able to define its function. It may be functioning like the suffix an of the derived
adjective discussed in 2.2.1.2.2 above, but this is still unclear at present,
308) ku ago ta mengen an
2SgSAgr stay ? talk ?
'(You) don't talk!*
This construction may be abbreviated to only ago when the rest of the context is obvious.
309) ago!
stay
'Don't! 1
Tliis construction is used not only for prohibitive commands. Another use it has is the
expression of purpose: '...so that it may not...*
310) JU ta lung bM i-ha asi kA-ri ago ta p\sal an
3SgSAgr Past stand block Obj-3Plur Pur Poss-3PIur stay ? go ?
*He stood in their path so they would not go.*
4.3.4 anguA ... an 'again'
Structure = +angtiAn +Verb/Adj/NP-comment +an
311) kA la angiun voko a~na-nnap an
3SgSAgr Pcrf again float Cs-Redup-carefuIly ?
*He floated (to the surface) carefully again.'
312) tATA angiun itAngAm an
IPlurlncSAgr again sing ?
'Let us sing again/
As an imperative, this construction may be shortened to angiun an when the rest of the
clause meaning is implicit.
313) angiun an!
again ?
4 (Do it) again!*
Other examples:
60
Tungak Grammar Essentials
314) parik kA la pa anguAn mAni an
not 3SgSAgr Perf Neg again bird ?
'It was not a bird anymore/ (it had changed to a devil)
315) parik kA pa angiun to an
not 3SgSAgr Neg again good ?
'It is not good anymore.'
4.3.5 Questions
There are two types of questions; polar and content.
4.3.5.1 Polar Questions
Polar questions expect a yes or no answer. These are not syntactically different from the
normal declarative clause but the rising intonation clause finally marks the clause as a polar
question.
316) kl ta ago c Metetui?
3SgSAgr Past stay at Metetui
'They were at Metetui?*
Contrast the above example with a simple stative clause below:
317) id ta ago e Metetui
3PIurSAgr Past stay at Metetui
They were at Metetui/
When the speaker is not really looking for the yes-no information but rather wants an
affirmation of his opinion, the tag, ingko is used clause finally.
318) ki ta ago e Metetui ingko
3PlurSAgr Past stay at Metetui Tag
'They were at Metetui, (isn't that right)?
4.3.5.2 Content Questions
Content questions ask for content information and are characterized by the use of a
question word and a clause final intonation drop.
4.3.5.2.1 *Who\ 'What', 'When' and 'Where' Questions
These four types of questions are similar in that they make use of a question word in the
slot of the element that is being questioned. The genitive marker si, functioning as the
question word 'who' and sa 'what' may fill the subject and object slots and the head of the
instrument, benefactive and accompaniment phrases. The question word voi 'where* may
only fill the head of the locative phrase and angisan 'when* replaces the time word in the
time phrase.
Filling the object slot:
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Lesley Fast
319) mi po angan sa?
2PlurSAgr Com eat what
* You arc eating what? '
Filling the subject slot:
320) si kA ta a-IIis ua (a nem kt*>
who 3SgSAgr Past Cs-give Obj2Sg Instr thing this
Who gave you this thing?'
Filling the accompaniment slot:
321) numai ve si ku ta scrci?
2SgSPrn with who 2SgSAgr Past come
'With whom did you come?
Filling the benefactive slot:
322) tia ka a-llis i-Aani si?
lSgSAgr Int Cs-give Obj-3Sg-Bnf who
To whom should I give it?'
Filling the time slot:
323) angisan ki screi?
when 3PlurSAgr arrive
* When will they arrive?*
Filling the locative slot:
324) ngAnUk ngAning kit p A sal e voP
later maybe 2SgSAgr go at where
Later perhaps you will be walking where?'
w^rd q l!f ; wTn^ W /n Cn l Can "if bC cx P rcssed with ^ genitive particle si and the question
word sa what in a time phrase construction. (See 3.3.4.1)
325) si sa Uun ki & P Asal ane Kavieng?
Gen what day 3PlurSAgr Past go to Kavieng
On what day did they go to Kavieng?'
4.3.5.2.2 'How' and 'Which' Question
These two questions are expressed in a similar form. If a verb is in question it means
how and if a noun is in question it means 'which*.
'Which' = +sa*a +Noun +a/i
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Tungak Grammar Essentials
326) ki ko-kos kuli saka vul an
3PIurSAgr Redup-board on which canoe ?
'Which canoe will they board?*
'How* = +saka +Verb +an
327) icA ta saka ito-iton an ani-A
3SgSAgr Past how Redup-prepare ? Obj-3Sg
'How did he prepare it?
4.3.5.2.3 'Why* Question
There is no single morpheme meaning 'why'. This question must be expressed in a phrase
using one of several logical connectives and sa 'what*. Each of these connectives describe a
different type of 'why'.
1) A relatively strong form of the question asks for the reason of an action and connotes an
accusation. This question uses the connective using 'because'.
328) using a sa ku ta angan i-a?
because Dcf what 2SgSAgr Past cat Obj-3Sg
'Why did you eat it?*
The preposition marai *why* is the same type of question as above but it seems to question
source rather than reason and as such is usually milder in its tone. The following two
examples illustrate this.
329) kA po Ungis marai sa?
3SgSAgr Cont cry becausc.of what
4 What is he crying about?*
330) kA po Ungis marai kA-ns suIa.
3SgSAgr Cont cry becausc.of Poss-3Sg spear
'He is crying because of his spear.* (it broke)
2) The question 'for what purpose?' is formed using a purpose marker and sa.
331) ki ta a-bis a lu ang ani sa
3PlurSAgr Past Cs-work Dcf house Dem Pur what
'For what purpose did they build the house?*
4.3.5.2.4 'How many' Questions
The 'how many' question is expressed by pAtSAn,
332) poisAn a taun kuNa-ago e kke
how.many ? day 2SgSAgr-Past-be at here
'How many days were you here?*
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Lesley Fast
4.3.6 Noun Phrase Dislocation
4.3.6.1 Fronting of NPO
The NPO can occur clause initially to mark it as the topic of the clause. When this happens
a trace of it is left in its usual slot. It has the same word order as a relative clause but can
be distinguished by the intonation break after the NPO, whereas if it is a relative clause
there will be no break at that point. It appears at this point that NPO is the only NP that
can be topicalised but further data may prove this wrong.
333) igenen ang, iw id a-r-ai ani-A
man Dem lSgSAgr Past Cs-sce-? Obj-3Sg
'The man, I saw him.
4.3.6.2 Right Dislocated Subject
This movement is only allowed in lower transitive clauses. The pragmatic reason for this
movement is not clear at this point. It may signal an afterthought.
When the subject is right dislocated it is marked by the definite marker a.
334) Aa ia tA-puiuk a sula ang
3SgSAgr Pcrf Proc-break Dcf spear Dem
'The spear broke/
335) k\ la pakang-ai ani-A na vuk lanun ang
3SgSAgr Pcrf help-? Obj-3Sg Dcf piece water Dem
The pond saved him.* or *It saved him, the pond/
5 Sentence
The sentence is defined as dial stretch of speech within a discourse that is bounded by
sentence intonation. Sentence intonation consists basically of falling intonation and a
breath pause.
The clause is the only obligatory clement in the sentence. It is the nucleus of the sentence.
Peripheral elements occur sentence initially and finally. See section 5.4 below.
There are two broad types of sentences; coordinate and subordinate.
5.1 Coordinate Sentence
5.1.1 Temporal Sequence
The first clause of the sentence has fuller affixation than the following ones. This seems to
apply only to the tense affix ta. If it occurs in the first clause it is obligatorily omitted in
the succeeding ones. (Note that clause breaks will be marked with the symbol *//)
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Tungak Grammar Essentials
336) kA ta angan II na // kk {..,} suncp
3SgSAgr Past eat and 3SgSAgr (...) wash.hands
*He ate and then he washed his hands.'
It seems that this reducing of the clause marks the two clauses as having the same subject.
Generally, if the second clause is a full clause parallel in form to the first one, the subject
agreement marking will refer to the last mentioned participant. As such it appears to be
syntactic ergativity.
337) kA ta so na ien II na II kA la pputuk kA-iu suIa
3SgSAgr Past spear Def fish and 3SgSAgr Perf break Poss-3Sg spear
'He speared the fish and it (the fish) broke his spear/
It is possible to overdy specify that the second clause is later in time than the first. This is
done with the time locatives ai-no 'before' and ai-mung 'after'. These locatives do not
obligatorily cooccur.
338) txa ka pAsal ai-no II na II ku ai-mung
ISgSAgr Int go Loc.front and 2SgSAgr Loc-bchind
*I will go first and you (come) later.*
As seen in the above examples, temporal succession may be marked with the coordinating
conjunction na. This conjunction is omitted when the clauses are seen as making up a unit
of events that are closely ued. This occurs, for example at the conclusion of a story.
339) ncm la (1a1 a-siAng j-a // ncm ko-kos II
IPlurExSAgr Perf drag Cs-dcscend Dbj-3Sg lPlurExSAgr Redup-board
ncm SAng
IPlurExSAgr run
'We dragged it (the canoe) down, we boarded, we ran.
5.1.2 Temporal Simultaneity
When different activities are going on over a period of time this can be expressed in a list
of clauses the last two being connected with na.
340) Id po ngal II ki po UngA mis II
3PlurSAgr Cont dig 3PIurSAgr Com chop root
na II ki po lovon
and 3PlurSAgr Cont gather.dcbris
'They are digging, they are chopping roots, and they are garnering debris.*
Another way of expressing simultaneity is with the use of a serial verb construction. A
serial verb construction is one where there are more than one verb in the VP and each one
denotes a single different action. (These differ from the verb compounds discussed in 2.3.2
which are viewed as single actions.)
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Lesley Fast
34 1 ) ki po sinong angan
3PlurSAgr Com sit eat
'They arc silling eating.*
5.1.3 Contraslive Sentence
The coordinating conjunction sikei 'but' obligatorily connects the two clauses of this
sentence. The clause expressing the event contrary to expectation must occur second in
order.
342) ki ta a-ssok tap-ai ani-A // sikei parik JU pa serci
3PlurSAgr Past Cssend.for now-? Obj-3Sg but not 3SgSAgr Neg arrive
'They sent for him but he is not coming.'
5.1.4 Adversative Sentence
The conjunction kAnUncm 'even though* is attached to the beginning of the clause that is
staling the hindrance to the oilier clause.
343) namem-ta a-bis II lunUnem kA ta po lAiigit
IPlurExSAgr-Past Cs-work even.though 3SgSAgr Past Com rain
*We worked even though it was raining.*
This clause may be first or second in the sentence. If it is first, the second clause
optionally has the conjunction sikei *but\
344) kAnUnem kA ta po malcpen // sikei k\ ta po
even.though 3SgSAgr Past Cont sick but 3SgSAgr Past Cont
ggulang a-ro
play Cs-good
*Even though he was sick, he still played well/
5.2 Subordinate Sentence
5.2.1 Reason-Result Sentence
5.2.1.1 Alternative Sentence
A special conjunction vci *or else' marks the second clause as the alternative event to that
of the first clause.
345) ha po a-ules /-a // vei kA dokot
ISgSAgr Cont Cs-turn Obj-3Sg or.else 3SgSAgr stick
T am stirring it (coconut oil) or else it will stick (to the pot.)*
346) ku an antok /-a // vei kA hiataIa palau
2SgSAgr Mot.away tell Obj-3Sg or.else 3SgSAgr angry for.no.reason
'You go tell him lest he be angry for no reason/
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Tungak Grammar Essentials
5.2.1.2 Certain Result
This sentence type is characterized by the conjunction using 'because'. Either reason or
result may occur first in the clause order.
Sentence = +Result Clause +u$ing +Reason Clause
or
Sentence = +using +Reason Clause +Result Clause
This is illustrated in the next two examples.
347) Result: Vonau let po jxiaiaIa //
Vonau 3SgSAgr Cont angry
Reason: using Elemen kx ta a-mmun kA-n\ ng\nig
because Elemen 3SgSAgr Past Cs-hide Poss-3Sg axe
* Vonau is angry because Elemen lost his axe.*
348) Reason: using k\ ta angan a ien niAtxk II
because 3SgSAgr Past eat Dcf fish raw
Result kA po malepcn
3SgSAgr Cont sick
'Because he ate the raw fish, he is sick.'
5.2.2 Purpose Sentence
There are four subordinating conjunctions. Three of them, si, asi, and ta y function in a
similar way (I see the phonological similarity of the first two) but I have not yet
pinpointed the difference in function, if there is one. Another one, ani has slightly different
features. On the basis of that difference I have set up two types of purpose sentence.
5.2.2.1 Reduced Subordinate Clause si y asi y ta
In this type of purpose sentence the main clause must occur first. The subordinate clause
docs not have the usual main clause person marking in the VP.
349) k\ la pAsal anc nci utcn II asi an sili
3SgSAgr Perf go to in forest Pur Mot.away hunt
'He went into the forest in order to hunt.'
350) ki ta scrci a-kuvul II si me tt\ngAm
3PlurSAgr Past arrive Cs-togcthcr Pur Mot.toward sing
'They came together to sing/
In order to make person explicit a possessive pronoun modifies the whole clause.
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Lesley Fast
351) /m po ggot i-a // asi ia-iiA tung a-kkit
lSgSAgr Cont lie Obj-3Sg Pur Poss-3Sg stand Cs-strong
'I am tying it so that il stand firmly/
It the subordinate clause has an object it must be prefixed by the indefinite object marker
ani. This difference can be seen in the following two examples; the first is a simple
sentence with only a main clause and the second is a purpose sentence with an indefinite
object marking in the subordinate clause.
352) Nuvat kA ta songo a /a/da-ha
Nuvat 3SgSAgr Past call Dcf father-3SgPoss
4 Nuvat called his father.'
353) ru ta a-ssok a Nuvat II si an songo ani Unu-nA
lSgSAgr Past Cs-scnd Dcf Nuvat Pur Motaway call Obj father-3SgPoss
4 1 sent Nuvat to call his father.'
5.2.2.2 Full Subordinate Clause ani
In this type of purpose sentence the subordinate clause must also occur second. The
structure of the subordinate clause is like the main clause with a full VP.
354) kA la a-ssok i-mcmlong II ani namemlong an
3SgSAgr Pcrf Cs-send Obj-lDlEx Pur lDlExSAgr Mot.away
songo na igenen ang
call Dcf man Dcm
4 He sent us (two) in order that we (two) go call the man.'
5.2.3 Conditional Sentence
The structure of this sentence can be seen in the formula below:
Sentence = +/riAn-Clause +Main Clause
or
Sentence = +Main Clause +//2A/i-Clause
355) iuau ku ta serei II n\ la a-llis ua
if 2SgSAgr Past arrive lSgSAgr Perf Cs-give Obj2Sg
ta kA-g suIa
Instr Poss-lSg spear
*If you had come I would have given you my spear.*
356) ha ka a-llis ua ta k\-g suIa // niAn ku serei
lSgSAgr Int Cs-givc Obj2Sg Instr Poss-lSg if 2SgSAgr arrive
4 I will give you my spear if you come.*
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Tungak Grammar Essentials
The conjunction niAn may also indicate a temporal condition as well as a real condition.
The particle le 'first* re-inforces the temporal rather than conditional sense of this sentence.
357) nun kx angan ssip le II k\ pxsal
when 3SgSAgr eat completely first 3SgSAgr go
'When he is finished eating he will go.'
5.3 Complex Sentence
A complex sentence is here defined as one in which two or more sentence types join
together and form one sentence. An example of this type of sentence is the following:
Sentence = (/nxn-Clause +Main Clause) +sifce/-Clause
358) nun ku ta ago e kkc II kAUvek parik k* la pa
if 2SgSAgr Past be at here dog not 3SgSAgr Perf Neg
angan a pur a ke II sikei ku ta kkovek
eat Def chicken this but 2SgSAgr Past absent
4 If you would have been here the dog would not have eaten this chicken but you
were not here.*
Another example:
359) Jbi la po sumA-sumA II asi *a-/ia ssip II sikci using a
3SgSAgr Perf Cont Redup-hurry Pur Poss-3Sg flee but because Def
kene ang JIca po masalai // lenginang
snake Dem 3SgSAgr Cont masalai already
Jbi la pAsal a-ulit i-A
3SgSAgr Perf go Cs-round Obj-3Sg
*She hurried in order to escape but because the snake was a masalai it had already
encircled her.*
5.4 Sentence Periphery
The time phrase is viewed as a peripheral element of the sentence. It can occur sentence
initially and finally.
360) anongo ki ta pxsal
yesterday 3PlurSAgr Past go
'Yesterday they went.'
361) ki ta pxsal anongo
3PlurSAgr Past go yesterday
'They went yesterday/
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Lesley Fast
Exclamations arc also peripheral elements ai the sentence level. These occur sentence
initially and include exclamations of affirmation, negation, surprise and sympathy.
Following are a few common examples:
362) io, k\ la kAtnus e kke
yes 3SgSAgr Pcrf finish at here
4 Yes, it is finished here/
363) piu, kA po vongo Java
Excl 3SgSAgr Cont pig big
4 Wow! it is a big pig!'
364) parik, ku ago pok
no 2SgSAgr stay back
*No, you stay back.*
6 Figures of Speech
Figures of speech are used to express a number of things. In the relatively short period of
my study of the language 1 have not observed very many uses of figurative language.
Probably the most common type I have observed is the use of body parts.
6.1 Body Part Figures of Speech
Since the occurrence in my observation is limited I will simply give a few representative
examples.
Reference to the eye can mean opinion or witness.
365) da ta bil a-rikek e miU-m / ri vap
lSgSAgr Past do Cs-bad in eye-3PIurPoss Gen Plur people
4 1 did wrong in the opinion of the people.'
The idea of structure can be expressed by the word toAit 4 bone'.
366) tiun palau i In kA po tung
bone just Gen house 3SgSAgr Cont stand
'Just the frame of the house is standing.'
Pregnancy is commonly expressed with the word vingA 'stomach'.
367) ki po a-togon vingA
3PlurSAgr(Hon) Cont Cs-nave stomach
*She is pregnant.'
The word for reason comes from the word tukul 'root or base*
368) tukul-ai i iu ta ki po longong bot
root-? Gen 3Sg ? 3PlurSAgr Com hear deaf
'The reason of it is that they disobey/
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Tungak Grammar Essentials
6.2 Other Figures of Speech
6.2.1 Metaphor
1 have heard things being referred to by use of metaphor. In referring to an important taboo
relationship, the coastal term kuiiAur 'point* was used to express the relationship. The
relationship is said to be a point that one cannot go around.
369) ang-nugAu-nan Ica po kiuuur i Uv vulis
Recip-taboo.relationship-? 3SgSAgr Cont point Gen Neg go.around.point
"The relationship of * A magAu" is a point that cannot be gone around.'
6.2.2 Simile
Simile is used to describe something by relating it to something similar. The comparative
connective val Mike' is used in this type of expression.
370) Aa po bil luai val mis us
3SgSAgr Cont thing Ints like white.woman
'She is just like a white woman.*
371) Ax po bil val vua
3SgSAgr Cont thing like betelnut
'It is like betelnut'
Data Papers on Papua New Guinea Languages
Volume 37
Two Grammatical Studies
Edited by John R. Roberts
Summer Institute of Linguistics
Ukarumpa via Lae
Papua New Guinea
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